WHAT GENERATION GAP? Oasis fans wouldn’t be...

WHAT GENERATION GAP? Oasis fans wouldn’t be shocked to hear the group’s Noel Gallagher sing a Burt Bacharach song in concert--he’s often professed his admiration for the veteran pop composer and has expressed hopes of collaborating.

But Bacharach fans were a little surprised last week during the musician’s first London concert in years, at the prestigious Festival Hall, when Gallagher stepped shyly on stage and crooned “This Guy’s in Love With You”--backed by Bacharach on piano and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The fans, ranging from teenagers to sixtysomethings, took to the young rocker, cheering after the song as he embraced Bacharach. It was quite a contrast to the cocky, boisterous image usually associated with Oasis, and after the show Gallagher even confessed that he was much more nervous performing alongside his hero than he’s been before rock festival crowds.

A source close to the event said that Gallagher was very cautious about being a disruptive presence. “We didn’t know whether it was going to happen right up until sound check. Noel didn’t want it turned into a media circus, because it would have ruined Burt’s concert.”